Julie Lesnik poses with a basket of edible insects on a trip in South Africa.

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Julie Lesnik poses with a basket of edible insects on a trip in South Africa.

Julie Lesnik

Early hominins likely utilized insects as part of the dietary shift that helped to support brain size expansion, although this food source has rarely been seriously considered in anthropological literature. In her lecture, Julie Lesnik will explore the value and potential of insects as food and examine our aversions through various cultural lenses.

Lesnik is an assistant professor of anthropology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Her research has been supported by the American Association of University Women and the Leakey Foundation. Lesnik was also a 2018-2019 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Leshner Leadership Institute on Public Engagement for the topic of food and water security.